The 17-year-old cow Deri from Grünefeld Holsteins from Backemoor (Eastern Friesland) has achieved a lifetime production of 200,000 kg of milk. She is the third cow in Germany to pass this special milestone. With that, Deri is the only active German cow with such a high lifetime production.

Deri, classified with 87 points, was born in November 2004 and is a daughter of the Canadian bull Comestar Outside. She is not an unknown cow in Germany. In 2018, for example, she was presented at the Excellentschau in Leer, where she was honored as the cow with the highest lifetime production ever to appear at the inspection.

In 2020, Deri finished second in the election of the ‘best economic utility cow’ of the association ‘Arbeitsgemeinschaft Lebens Linien’. At that time, she had already produced 174,000 kg of milk. On this occasion, her owner – who milks 250 cows with robots – described his favorite as a “unobtrusive, trouble-free cow who has rarely seen the vet in her life and almost always got pregnant on the first insemination.”

The third German two-hundred-tonner comes from a cow family that has proven its breeding power with several AI bulls, including Jocko Besne son Jardin, who is also used in the Netherlands. The eldest daughter of Deri – whose father is Boss Iron – has also produced more than 100,000 kg of milk in her lifetime.

Just weeks after Gov. Janet Mills issued a highly controversial veto against a bill that would have allowed farmworkers in Maine to unionize, dairy workers rallied outside Hannaford headquarters in Scarborough to demand more rights.

Workers from the advocacy group Migrant Justice on Saturday were calling on the supermarket conglomerate to join their “Milk With Dignity” program. If the chain becomes a member, farms involved in the production of Hannaford-branded milk will be legally required to follow a set of worker-created standards for improved housing, wages, health and safety conditions. 

Addressing the crowd, Rep. Thom Harnett (D-Gardiner), the sponsor of LD151, which would have allowed farm workers in Maine the opportunity to unionize and collectively bring employment concerns to their bosses without fear of retaliation. 

“Just two weeks ago, the governor of Maine vetoed a bill passed by the House and Senate that gave workers the right to talk to one another, to better their lives, to increase their wages,” Harnett said. “And she said no. And that is wrong. In Maine and Vermont, farm workers are considered essential, but they’re not even considered employees under the law.”

Mills’ veto was decried by labor advocates at the time as being “fundamentally immoral” and an “absolute disgrace.”

Since the 1930s, farmworkers and most domestic laborers—disproportionately workers of color—have been excluded from federal labor protection laws affording them the right to earn minimum wage, get paid overtime and form unions. As a result, almost a quarter of farm workers in the U.S. still earn less than minimum wage.

Maine dairy workers face similarly bleak working conditions. Migrant Justice previously reported that Maine dairy workers and their families suffer from brutal winters without heat, working for under minimum wage and laboring seven days a week for long hours without a break. In other instances, Maine dairy workers and their families were kicked out of their homes after refusing to work while sick with COVID.

“We’ve been working throughout the pandemic, because we can’t stop. We have to provide for our families and we could lose our jobs,” Emilio, a dairy worker, said at the rally. “But Hannaford hasn’t recognized that hard work throughout the pandemic. That’s why we’re here to speak to their faces. Just like we work everyday on the dairy farms, we are fighting everyday for milk with dignity.”

Milk With Dignity was first conceived in 2009 after young dairy worker José Obeth Santiz Cruz was pulled into a mechanized gutter scraper and strangled to death by his own clothing. Three years ago, Ben & Jerry’s signed on to the group’s pilot program. Working and housing conditions for their more than 250 dairy farm workers have improved as a result. 

“In Maine and Vermont, farm workers aren’t entitled to the minimum wage, they don’t get overtime even though they work 60, 70, 80 hours a week,” Harnett said. “In Maine and Vermont, farmworkers can’t unionize. They can be fired for talking to their bosses about bettering their lives and working situations. It is because of laws like that that farmworkers are treated as less than. Less respected, less valued, less than human, and that is wrong.”

Mills’ veto of LD151 is among the executive actions she’s taken against pro-worker bills. In 2021, the conservative Democratic governor vetoed six labor bills. Those policies include giving harassed workers access to the court system, providing bargaining power to public-sector unions to settle wage disputes, and requiring public construction projects to be made with American materials. In 2019, Mills also threatened to veto several other major pro-worker bills, such as a paid time off law.

“I know the change we need is not happening in state capitals, it is only going to happen when the people get together and make that change,” Harnett said. “That is why today I’m proud to stand in solidarity with my brothers and sisters from Migrant Justice and Milk With Dignity to tell Hannaford to do the right thing.” 

“We are asking Hannaford to recognize and say out loud that farmworkers have human dignity and rights, that they deserve to be treated like human beings. We cannot accept anything less, we will not accept anything less,” Harnett added. “Today we stand together, today we demand change.”

Source: mainebeacon.com

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its winter outlook for the next few months, and another La Nina weather pattern of warmer and drier conditions is likely to occur in parts of the US, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s going to be a mild winter.

State Climatologist Gary McManus advised against letting mild predictions fool people into thinking ice, snow and extreme cold won’t happen. Last year’s La Nina winter began with an ice storm in October and ended with a deep freeze in February.

“The subzero temperatures we saw last year for an extended period of time haven’t been recorded in Oklahoma since 1983,” he said.

McManus said storms are possibly sticking around longer than usual thanks to a weakening of the jet stream combined with stubborn weather patterns downstream.

“A blocking pattern in the Atlantic Ocean causes high pressure systems to stick here in the middle of the country, and the jet stream slows,” McManus said.

So how do livestock owners plan for a mild winter that could include severe ice, snow and cold? Evaluating the impact of last year’s weather is a good first step.

“The ice storm in late October of 2020 came as a surprise and limited stockpiling of warm-season grasses for use later in the winter along with wheat pasture growth in crop fields,” said Paul Beck, an Oklahoma State University Extension specialist in beef nutrition. “The limited amount of available forage was a good lesson in setting aside forage during early fall and having extra hay for when things don’t go according to plan.”

While Beck said cattle had time to regain any losses in body condition suffered from the second winter storm in February, a bigger concern was the short-term lack of water. Stock tank heaters and tools to break ice on ponds were in short supply during the extreme cold snap, and producers lost livestock due to drowning or hypothermia after falling through pond ice. The cold stress also took its toll on herd sires, reducing fertility in bulls that were exposed to subzero temperatures and frostbite.

“Producers who do not conduct breeding soundness exams on their herd sires may not realize the reduced fertility effects until they conduct pregnancy tests this fall or discover open cows next spring,” said David Lalman, OSU Extension beef cattle specialist.

Boosting nutrition requirements and providing shelter from the elements can greatly alleviate the impact of cold stress and decrease livestock loss. Daily access to water while feeding extra hay and supplement in a covered area — such as a man-made windbreak, a line of round bales or a stand of cedar trees — will help maintain a cow’s milk production and stabilize a bull’s fertility.

“The lowest temperature a cow in good body condition with a good winter coat can be exposed to before her nutrition needs increase is 20 degrees,” Beck said. “The lowest temperature for a thin cow with short hair is 40 degrees.”

If severe cold or precipitation is short-lived, producers should remain consistent with their livestock’s balanced nutrition program. When a radical weather change is expected, avoid digestive upset by modestly increasing energy and protein availability to help cattle maintain their body heat and condition.

“For example, in the case of cattle grazing winter pasture, high-quality hay could be put out ahead of the storm,” Lalman said. “If 4 pounds of 20% protein cubes are being fed, perhaps increase the feeding rate to 5 pounds prior to and during the storm.”

Wind chill is often a bigger threat to cattle, especially calves, than temperature. Many of the calves who survived the extreme cold last winter have the scars to prove it with frostbitten ears and noses because they lacked the capability to maintain body temperature at such a young age.

Dr. Rosslyn Biggs, OSU Extension veterinarian and director of continuing education for the OSU Center for Veterinary Medicine, recommended evaluating cattle herds now to make culling decisions that can improve the welfare of not only an individual animal but also the entire herd.

“Animals in poor or thin body condition need to be placed on an increased plane of nutrition to address additional demands as we enter winter,” she said.

Once the first storm arrives, producers should have extra feed on hand, provide as much cover from the elements as possible and watch for changes in animal behavior.

“It’s easy to rush through feeding and chores when the weather is poor, but we should always be focused on monitoring our animals closely and taking the extra moments to evaluate for signs of illness,” Biggs said.

Paul Beck advises how to adjust cattle nutrition programs during a long-term winter weather event in this episode of the agricultural television show SUNUP.

Source: thedairysite.com

Dr. Gisèle LaPointe will lead the five-year initiative

A newly funded, $6.1-million project headed by the University of Guelph in Canada aims to ensure environmental sustainability while strengthening Canada’s dairy industry.

Led by Dr. Gisèle LaPointe, a professor in U of G’s Ontario Agricultural College, will lead a five-year initiative in dairy microbiology involving nearly 50 U of G researchers and students as well as five leading partners in Canada’s $20-billion dairy industry.

The Dairy Alliance will receive $3.5 million from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and a total of $2.6 million in funding and in-kind support from Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Novalait Inc., Lactalis Canada and Lallemand Inc.

The alliance is intended to bring together experts from the University’s OAC and Ontario Veterinary College to ensure dairy product quality through improved control of microbial ecosystems from production to processing, said LaPointe.

“Farm management practices have impacts on the types of microbes that are transmitted to milk, which in turn influence processing and the shelf life of the products,” she said.

The project’s findings will feed into Canada’s National Dairy Research Strategy, which aims to support continuous improvement in the sustainable production of quality, nutritious dairy products.

Source: thedairysite.com

Calving season is an exciting time for us all as we gear up to welcome our newest calf crop into the world. Help make it the most successful season possible by ensuring adequate colostrum, preventing cold stress, and having a calving kit at the ready.

Tip 1: Ensure Adequate Colostrum  

Calves are born agammaglobulinemic, meaning they have almost no antibodies to protect them against disease. Simply, they’re not born with any immune memory that we develop over our lifetime – they receive those antibodies, an immediate source of immunity, and a very concentrated source of energy from their cow’s colostrum (the first milk produced following birth).

Colostrum delivers some 95% of the antibodies a calf obtains, plus a rich source of minerals, vitamins and energy. It provides protection for newborn calves against infectious agents during the first few months of life.

Colostrum absorbance has a 24-hour window. That short time influences a calf’s lifetime of health and productivity. Because antibodies are very large molecules, the calf’s intestine is only capable of absorbing this protection immediately following birth, with essentially no absorption possible after the first 24 hours. Within the first 12 hours of a calf’s life, ideally within the first four to six hours of life, these calves should receive three to four quarts of colostrum.

Depending on if the calf nurses or not, we might have to tube them and get some colostrum replacers or colostrum supplements into them. Keep in mind, there are colostrum supplements and colostrum replacers, and there is a difference.

Colostrum replacers have roughly double the level of antibodies in them, compared with colostrum supplements. If your calf doesn’t receive any colostrum, then we would recommend giving them a colostrum replacer. Colostrum supplements work well in circumstances where a calf might not have nursed enough, for calves born from heifers, or if you fear the cow’s colostrum quality could be lacking. Colostrum supplements can also offer a very good source of energy, fat and protein to help jumpstart sick calves.

Tip 2: Keep Chilled Calves Warm 

The most severe result from cold stress on calves is death from hypothermia. If at all possible, bring cows indoors to a calving shed or barn to calve in a heavily bedded, clean pen for added warmth and reduced moisture. If calving outdoors, an area mostly free of mud and manure – with a wind break – is ideal. Cold stress and hypothermia can pose great risk to calves, especially if calves experience dystocia, which often results in delayed standing and nursing, both can quickly lower their body temperature.

A cold calf is going to be slow and a little lethargic – they might not want to stand up. If their nose or extremities like their feet or right above their feet feel cold, then most likely they need warming.

Beware the signs of hypothermia, which include:

• Body temperature below 94° F
• Shivering
• Increased pulse and breathing rate
• Erratic behavior
• Confusion and uncoordinated gait
• Cold, pale nostrils and hooves

It’s critical to return the calves to their normal core body temperature of 102°F. There are several ways to do this, such as placing them under a heat lamp, warm blankets, bringing them indoors, or giving them a warm bath (warmed gradually), or putting the calf into a warming box.

I personally find there to be more practical methods than, let’s say, a warm water bath. Let’s face it, often times there’s a lot of moisture, snow and mud. So, after a warm water bath indoors, we have to dry off calves completely before returning them to the cow. The practice can be labor intensive.

There are calf warmers that can dry them off as the unit warms the calf. Another benefit is, when inside the warmer, the calf is actually breathing in warm air, helping to warm them internally, as well. That’s my favorite way to warm a chilled calf.  

As far as when we need to warm them up, I recommend warming if their body temperature falls below 100°F. Producers will also need to consider wind break availability and what current environmental conditions are like. If it’s extreme enough, drying and warming every calf could be necessary.

Tip 3: Have a Stocked Calving Kit  

It’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it – and that’s especially true as we head into calving season. I recommend having a calving kiton-hand; here are some items I’ve always valued having in mine.

• Calf resuscitator
• Calf pulling chains
• OB handles
• Stainless steel pail
• Chlorhexidine disinfectant solution
• OB sleeves
• OB lube
• Iodine or umbilical spray
• Colostrum replacers and supplements

Continue learning about calving and cattle health solutions at ValleyVet.com, and stay tuned for my next piece on the topic of assisting with calving.

About Valley Vet Supply

Valley Vet Supply was founded in 1985 by veterinarians to provide customers with the very best animal health solutions. Building on over half a century of experience in veterinary medicine, Valley Vet Supply serves equine, pet and livestock owners with thousands of products and medications hand-selected by Valley Vet Supply Technical Service veterinarians and team of industry professionals. With an in-house pharmacy that is licensed in all 50 states, and verified through the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), Valley Vet Supply is the dedicated source for all things horse, livestock and pet. For more information, please visit ValleyVet.com.

From March 1-3, the group of 53 international experts will evaluate 2,919 dairy product entries

Less than a month remains until dozens of highly qualified judges from around the world gather in Madison, Wisconsin for the 2022 World Championship Cheese Contest. From March 1-3, the group of 53 international experts will evaluate 2,919 dairy product entries, selecting the best in each class – and the 2022 World Champion.

This year’s judging team includes cheese graders, cheese buyers, dairy science professors, and researchers with more than 700 combined years of experience in the dairy processing industry. They hail from 16 countries and 13 U.S. states. They are:

“The skill, expertise, and knowledge of our Contest judges are part of what make this competition so unique,” said Kirsten Strohmenger of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, host of the biennial event. “Their precise, rigorous evaluation adds meaning and value to the golden Contest seal consumers see on the store shelf, helping to boost sales and drive interest in the winning companies.”

Under the leadership of Chief Judge Jim Mueller, Chief Judges Emeritus Bill Schlinsog and Bob Aschebrock, and Assistant Chief Judges Tim Czmowski, Stan Dietsche, Josef Hubatschek, Mariana Marques de Almeida, and Sandy Toney, the judges will calculate a precise score for each cheese, butter product, yogurt, and dry dairy ingredient entered in the Contest. Products are evaluated on a variety of attributes including flavor, body, texture, salt, color, finish, packaging, and others.

Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded to the three highest scoring entries in each of this year’s 141 distinct classes. The World Champion Cheese will be announced live online at WorldChampionCheese.org at 2:00 p.m. (CT) Thursday, March 3.

Today the USDA announced that they have extended the deadline to enroll in Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) and Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage (SDMC) for program year 2022. The deadline to apply for 2022 coverage is now March 25, 2022. DMC and SDMC signups opened in December 2021 to help dairy producers manage economic risk brought on by milk price and feed cost disparities. FSA has also updated how feed costs are calculated, which will make the program more reflective of dairy producers’ actual expenses.

How to Sign Up: You must work with your local Farm Service Agency (FSA) service center to sign up for the DMC program by March 25. Click here to find a service center near you.

Background on the DMC Program: DMC offers reasonably priced protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed cost (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer. Supplemental DMC will provide $580 million to better help small- and mid-sized dairy operations that have increased production over the years but were not able to enroll the additional production. Now, they will be able to retroactively receive payments for that supplemental production.

A Recap of 2021 Payments: Producers who enrolled in DMC for 2021 received margin payments each month, January through November, for a total of $1.2 billion, with an average payment of $60,275 per operation.

Feed Cost Updates: USDA has recently changed the DMC feed cost formula via final rule published on December 13, 2021, to better reflect the actual cost dairy farmers pay for high-quality alfalfa hay. FSA now calculates payments using 100% premium alfalfa hay rather than 50%. In December 2021, following publication of the new feed cost policy, $102 million was paid to producers as a result of the revised high quality alfalfa feed cost formula. The amended feed cost formula will make DMC payments more reflective of actual dairy producer expenses.

Learn More About DMC

The funding will be used to test a novel strategy to make milk production more efficient, and to communicate animal science to the public

Cornell University has received a four-year, $1 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that will be used to help fund a project to test a novel strategy to make milk production more efficient and sustainable. According to a news release in the Cornell Chronicle written by Krishna Ramanujan, a second, related NSF grant of $200,000 will help students and faculty from Cornell and SUNY Cortland to communicate animal science to the public.

For the project’s research component, principal investigator Joseph McFadden ‘03, associate professor of dairy cattle biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and colleagues will use $1,021,000 to test whether lipids called ceramides could help improve the efficiency and sustainability of milk production. When cows and sheep use nutrients and produce milk efficiently, they emit less methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

“Animal foods are nutrient dense foods,” McFadden said. “They’re very important for human health and nutrition.” At the same time, over the last century, researchers have used their understanding of genetics, nutrition and animal management to dramatically reduce the amount of methane that an animal produces per unit of milk, McFadden said.

“It’s important that we let the consumer know that these advancements have existed and they’ve actually helped the dairy industry become more sustainable,” he said. “There’s a perception out there that the dairy industry isn’t doing anything and they’re purposely harming the environment.”

Dale Bauman, professor emeritus of animal science, discovered that recombinant bovine growth hormone, somatotropin, a key contributor to how milk is made, involves a physiological process called insulin resistance. The hormone insulin helps regulate blood sugar, while also affecting fat and protein metabolism. Insulin resistance in early lactation rises in order to deliver the proper nutrients for making milk. McFadden and colleagues discovered early evidence that ceramide may cause insulin resistance and promote milk production in ruminants.

With the grant, the group will test how somatotropin promotes milk production and whether it depends on ceramides. In part two of the study, the group will test a new recombinant protein they hope will increase ceramide levels in the animal.

“If that’s the case, [the sheep or cow] should be more insulin resistant and make more milk,” McFadden said.

The project’s outreach component, led by Amanda Davis, a former member of McFadden’s lab who is now an assistant professor of biological science at SUNY Cortland, is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, which supports research activities by undergraduates in NSF-funded areas.

More than 60 students and faculty from Cornell and SUNY Cortland will take part in science communication training led by staff and youth program coordinators at the Sciencenter, a hands-on museum in Ithaca. Ultimately, Cornell students and SUNY Cortland NSF REU researchers will apply what they learned about sustainable food animal production to inform the public on these issues. The students will also hold a public outreach event at local summer festivals and the state fair.

McFadden will also teach a course, Communicating Animal Science, which includes using social media and producing episodes for the podcast, Ruminate on This, to inform the public on issues concerning ruminants, such as cows and sheep. When McFadden taught the course last fall, students investigated consumer decisions about plant-based milk alternatives, surveyed members of the public at Trader Joe’s and Wegman’s on their choices, and then interviewed scientists to identify and address misconceptions. The results of their research and interviews will end up on the podcast in the near future.

Source: thedairysite.com

Just weeks after Gov. Janet Mills issued a highly controversial veto against a bill that would have allowed farmworkers in Maine to unionize, dairy workers rallied outside Hannaford headquarters in Scarborough to demand more rights.

Workers from the advocacy group Migrant Justice on Saturday were calling on the supermarket conglomerate to join their “Milk With Dignity” program. If the chain becomes a member, farms involved in the production of Hannaford-branded milk will be legally required to follow a set of worker-created standards for improved housing, wages, health and safety conditions. 

Addressing the crowd, Rep. Thom Harnett (D-Gardiner), the sponsor of LD151, which would have allowed farm workers in Maine the opportunity to unionize and collectively bring employment concerns to their bosses without fear of retaliation. 

“Just two weeks ago, the governor of Maine vetoed a bill passed by the House and Senate that gave workers the right to talk to one another, to better their lives, to increase their wages,” Harnett said. “And she said no. And that is wrong. In Maine and Vermont, farm workers are considered essential, but they’re not even considered employees under the law.”

Mills’ veto was decried by labor advocates at the time as being “fundamentally immoral” and an “absolute disgrace.”

Since the 1930s, farmworkers and most domestic laborers—disproportionately workers of color—have been excluded from federal labor protection laws affording them the right to earn minimum wage, get paid overtime and form unions. As a result, almost a quarter of farm workers in the U.S. still earn less than minimum wage.

Maine dairy workers face similarly bleak working conditions. Migrant Justice previously reported that Maine dairy workers and their families suffer from brutal winters without heat, working for under minimum wage and laboring seven days a week for long hours without a break. In other instances, Maine dairy workers and their families were kicked out of their homes after refusing to work while sick with COVID.

“We’ve been working throughout the pandemic, because we can’t stop. We have to provide for our families and we could lose our jobs,” Emilio, a dairy worker, said at the rally. “But Hannaford hasn’t recognized that hard work throughout the pandemic. That’s why we’re here to speak to their faces. Just like we work everyday on the dairy farms, we are fighting everyday for milk with dignity.”

Milk With Dignity was first conceived in 2009 after young dairy worker José Obeth Santiz Cruz was pulled into a mechanized gutter scraper and strangled to death by his own clothing. Three years ago, Ben & Jerry’s signed on to the group’s pilot program. Working and housing conditions for their more than 250 dairy farm workers have improved as a result. 

“In Maine and Vermont, farm workers aren’t entitled to the minimum wage, they don’t get overtime even though they work 60, 70, 80 hours a week,” Harnett said. “In Maine and Vermont, farmworkers can’t unionize. They can be fired for talking to their bosses about bettering their lives and working situations. It is because of laws like that that farmworkers are treated as less than. Less respected, less valued, less than human, and that is wrong.”

Mills’ veto of LD151 is among the executive actions she’s taken against pro-worker bills. In 2021, the conservative Democratic governor vetoed six labor bills. Those policies include giving harassed workers access to the court system, providing bargaining power to public-sector unions to settle wage disputes, and requiring public construction projects to be made with American materials. In 2019, Mills also threatened to veto several other major pro-worker bills, such as a paid time off law.

“I know the change we need is not happening in state capitals, it is only going to happen when the people get together and make that change,” Harnett said. “That is why today I’m proud to stand in solidarity with my brothers and sisters from Migrant Justice and Milk With Dignity to tell Hannaford to do the right thing.” 

“We are asking Hannaford to recognize and say out loud that farmworkers have human dignity and rights, that they deserve to be treated like human beings. We cannot accept anything less, we will not accept anything less,” Harnett added. “Today we stand together, today we demand change.”

Source: mainebeacon.com

The big investment in plant-based milk has so far failed to dampen demand for dairy.

An explosion of new products which call themselves milk – particularly nuts and soy – are not making the consumer inroads many of their makers claim.

The dairy industry says only two per cent of Australian households are regularly buying plant-based milk.

But lots more fake milks are in the pipeline, hoping science will provide the breakthrough to replicate actual cow’s milk.

One of them is the Australian startup Eden Brew which is developing animal-free dairy products with the $4 million backing of CSIRO and Australia’s oldest dairy co-operative Norco.

Eden Brew is still fine tuning a process called precision fermentation to mimic cow’s milk.

Others like plant-based meat startup All G Foods has the support of Woolworths to explore new products, which includes a similar precision fermentation process to replicate milk.

Food company Sanitarium claims global sales of non-dairy milk alternatives have more than doubled between 2009 and 2015 to $21 billion, “while dairy milk consumption is on the decline”.

Sanitarium has a large share of the plant-based milk market in Australia with its So Good range.

Dairy Australia says the Sanitarium claim is “technically correct” but not really.

Australians consumed on average 94.4 litres of liquid milk each in the 2020/21 financial year.

This was down three per cent from the previous year and by eight per cent over the past five years.

But Dairy Australia’s senior industry analyst Sofia Omstedt said consumption of other dairy products has remained stable and, in some cases, has increased.

Cheese consumption has been stable over the past five years at 13.4 kg per person per year, while yoghurt consumption has grown by five per cent to 9.5 kg per person per year.

“It is also important to point out that 98 per cent of Australian households still regularly purchase milk,” Ms Omstedt said.

“So, while consumption is down a bit, Australia still has a very high liquid milk consumption from a global perspective.”

MORE READING: Trade Minister chasing Indian deal.

Dairy Australia’s human health and policy manager Melissa Cameron also commented on thenutritional differences between cow’s milk and plant-based “milks”:

“Plant-based beverages represent a small share of the drinking “milk” market relative to fresh and long-life cow’s milk. In fact, only 2 per cent of households exclusively buy plant-based beverages,” she said.

“Cow’s milk is an affordable nutrient powerhouse, naturally containing an array of nutrients in a unique matrix that are well absorbed by the body and deliver positive health benefits.

“Plant-based beverages contain a different package of vitamins and minerals which are often added in (through fortification) and in smaller quantities than cow’s milk.”

“The health benefits of dairy foods are well supported by a strong body of scientific evidence, but there is currently limited evidence to demonstrate the health benefits of plant-based beverages.”

Meanwhile, Australian food company Sanitarium has approached the national food regulators wanting to tweak its range of products to add new ingredients to their recipe.

They want the food laws changed so they can add plant sterols to the mix, and then claim the products help reduce cholesterol.

“The inclusion of plant sterols in dairy based products has been permitted for over 15 years in Australia. We are seeking permission to allow plant sterols to be included in plant milks in the same way, providing more choice to consumers seeking to support their heart health,” a Sanitarium spokeswoman said.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand appears likely to approve the use of plant sterols as long as it is made clear on the packaging.

“Sales of plant-based milk alternatives as a category, and each major segment of soy, almond and oat, has been growing steadily over the past decade in Australia and New Zealand driven by an increase in users of these products,” FSANZ says.

“The proposed change will, for the first time provide Australian and New Zealand consumers who are interested in lowering their cholesterol the choice of accessing effective amounts of plant sterols via one serve of plant sterol enriched plant-based milk alternative as part of their diet.”

Late last year the Australian dairy industry called on the federal government to stop allowing plant-based products to misuse and leverage dairy terms.

The Australian Dairy Industry Council also called for the government to stop plant-based products misrepresenting dairy nutrition.

“The issue of plant-based products falsely leveraging the dairy industry is a long-standing problem in this country,” ADIC chair Rick Gladigau said.

At one of the public hearings called during the Senate inquiry into fake food labelling, Mr Gladigau said the Australian dairy industry had extremely strict standards of identity to be able to call a product milk, cheese or yoghurt.

“We follow strict standards of identity for all our products that gives us permission to use those dairy terms, and unfortunately the plant-based products don’t have that,” Mr Gladigau said.

The dairy industry has been advocating for fair labelling and marketing since the 1980s.

Source: farmonline.com.au

Dairy activists are praising USDA’s decision to keep flavored 1% milk in schools, but they say more milk options are needed.

On Feb. 4, USDA extended the emergency flexibility put in place by the Trump administration that allowed chocolate 1% milk to be served in schools, in addition to nonfat milk and plain 1%.

U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., said he was initially concerned about what the Biden administration would do with the standards, but he is pleased with last week’s outcome.

“We’ve seen increased consumption of milk ever since this was initiated to allow 1% low-fat milk in schools,” Thompson said, adding he wants the rule to become permanent.

The Feb. 4 action extended the standards for the next two school years, citing pandemic challenges for cafeterias.

Thompson said the rule helps children nutritionally, and it benefits dairy farmers because the action doesn’t disrupt what’s been in place since the Trump administration.

“In 2010, when Democrats were in the majority and they demonized whole milk and took it out of our schools, our dairy farms were significantly hurt economically,” Thompson said. “We lost almost an entire generation of milk drinkers, and I think some of them have come back with the 1% in schools.”

Dairy groups also praised the Biden administration’s decision.

“Ensuring kids have access to the nutrients they need to grow and thrive is a top priority for dairy,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of National Milk Producers Federation. “One percent flavored milk is not only fully consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, it is also a nutrient-dense, low-fat healthy option kids will choose to drink.”

G.N. Hursh, president of 97 Milk, said allowing 1% flavored milk in schools is “a step in the right direction.”

But the rule isn’t permanent, and consumer education is needed to build support for the return of whole milk to schools, he said.

Thompson pledged to continue working on his signature whole milk bill, which has bipartisan support from more than 80 co-sponsors.

Thompson said the biggest challenge has been getting the bill scheduled for consideration in the House Education and Labor Committee, which has jurisdiction over school nutrition.

Some of the committee’s Democratic staff were involved in removing whole milk from schools when the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was passed in 2010, Thompson said.

In an attempt to reduce childhood obesity, that law said the milk served in the federal School Lunch Program must meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans — effectively giving whole milk the boot.

Thompson said the move was based on bad science and today the benefits of whole milk are clear.

“We know whole milk is a powerhouse beverage that more kids would drink in school. But it’s been challenging to get my act scheduled for consideration in the Education and Labor Committee,” Thompson said.

“I am really pleased with the USDA and Secretary (Tom) Vilsack reissuing the regulation for 1% flavored milk in school, but I’m not going to be totally satisfied until we get the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids passed.”

Source: lancasterfarming.com

A LOSS to the medical profession has been the local dairy industry’s gain in Western Dairy regional extension officer India Brockman.

Ms Brockman, 27, joined Western Dairy last year, initially as Young Dairy co-ordinator, but quickly stepped up to the extension officer role, taking on organising Western Dairy’s annual portfolio of events, while retaining her Young Dairy responsibilities.

She joined at a time when Western Dairy was undergoing fundamental change.

The old guard in Western Dairy executive officer of more than 20 years, Esther Jones and Ms Brockman’s predecessor as extension officer for seven years, Jess Andony – who both served the dairy industry extremely well – were moving on, leaving a huge vacuum in operational knowledge and experience.

Ms Brockman only had four years of hands-on dairy farm experience and new regional manager Julianne Hill, while widely experienced in grains and cattle, was new to both dairying and Western Dairy.

But they had people such as Western Dairy immediate past chairman Peter Evans, vastly experienced in dairy farming, dairy business and agripolitics, to guide them.

At the same time, the philosophy of the organisation also appeared to be subtly changing.

Possibly due to the strength of character of the people involved, Western Dairy had always run its own agenda and operated as an adjunct to national organisation Dairy Australia.

Since 2015 it had been responsible for the local industry and had taken over pasture trials and other scientific research from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), after a previous State government decided to downsize DPIRD and outsource administration of the dairy industry.

As of last year, Western Dairy appeared to be moving under the Dairy Australia umbrella, as its local arm in WA.

Industry changes were happening around Australia – a code of conduct for supply contracts and plans being drawn up for a better future for the industry and for farmers – so Western Dairy shrewdly recognised there was strength in numbers and moved to get with the strength.

It was into this relative state of flux Ms Brockman plunged last year when she joined Western Dairy, but she has thrived.

“I’ve been in the job five months and I’m enjoying it,” Ms Brockman said.

“Some of it is a challenge – I’m organising Innovation Day and it’s not small.”

Dairy Innovation Day on Thursday, May 12, will take up much of her time before then because the very popular annual day showcasing the industry will feature a new format this year.

Traditionally held on one or sometimes two nearby dairy farms, the event has become so big it is unrealistic to expect farmers to volunteer their properties and open up to almost 400 people.

So this year’s event will be held in the Dardanup Hall, with afternoon visits by bus to the Depiazzi and Twomey dairies to inspect onfarm innovations and improvements, for those who are interested.

“It’s my baby at the moment,” Ms Brockman said of Innovation Day.

“Last year’s Innovation Day at the Haddons’ (Neville and Elaine Haddon, their son Garry and his wife Tiffany, who operate the largest dairy farm in the Busselton region), was so big and such a success that I have big shoes to fill.

“We’ve taken a different approach this year because last year’s was so big there is no point trying to beat it – that shed (the Haddons’ new machinery shed completed a week before Dairy Innovation Day was held in it) was huge.

“It’s more about putting on a topical, interesting program than beating last year’s numbers.”

Ms Brockman describes herself as “well and truly bred for the country, not born to it”.

She grew up in Fremantle, but her paternal grandparents, John and Margaret, have a farm at Ruabon just out of Busselton and she has lived there while working as a milker and calf rearer on local farms and now with her Bunbury-based role with Western Dairy.

“Every school holidays we (Ms Brockman is the middle one of three children) came down here), I’ve always been down here getting thrown on the racehorses for a ride around until they tossed me off,” she said.

Her grandfather, who turns 84 next month, trained racehorses – he only stopped riding 15 years ago – and her aunt Tonia was a successful trainer.

“We’d come down, I’d want a pony ride but the pony in the stables is a little satan (pony Buzz is the same age as Ms Brockman and used to keep racehorses company in the float on the way to race meetings) so dad would pick the nicest in work racehorse for me to ride and usually I came off it 10 minutes later,” she recalled.

The Brockman family was among the first settlers in the South West and her forebears include explorers and politicians.

Brockman Highway is named after early family members.

“We (Brockmans) came here (Busselton) with the Bussells and the Malloys back in 1834,” Ms Brockman said.

“There are lots and lots and lots of Brockmans.

“What is now Provence (housing estate, East Busselton) used to be the old Busselton Brockman property – I’ve got not so fond memories of being thrown off a pony out there before the development started.”

Her maternal grandparents, the Simpsons, have a 1214 hectare wheat and sheep property at Three Springs.

But it was medicine, not farming, that initially attracted Ms Brockman, who graduated from The University of Western Australia in 2014 with a bachelor of science, majoring in anatomy and human biology.

“I was going to be a doctor, I thought,” she said.

But a gap year accident in Queensland resulting in a knee reconstruction changed the course of her life.

“I came back home and got stuck in an office job for a bit, until I couldn’t stand it anymore,” she explained.

“Then I had a friend come down who had wanted to go north (jillarooing) but was told to get some experience with cattle first, so she was working on a dairy farm and loving it.

“I thought ‘I can do that’.

“So I applied for a job at 6.30 in the morning and the farmer rang back about 20 past 10 and at the weekend I was down onfarm for a trial and two weeks later I’d moved in with gran and granddad at Busselton and was milking.

“I stayed there two years.”

That farmer was current Western dairy vice chairman Andrew Jenkins on a lease property at Yelverton.

“I moved into the calf rearing area pretty quickly and did some tractor work when needed, around sillage time,” she said.

“For the last six months I was there, Andrew had moved back to his Denmark farm, so the team ran the (Yelverton) farm, which was brilliant.

“But when Andrew and (wife) Clare moved back to their farm at Denmark, I had to move on because I wasn’t going to the cold down there – it’s a beautiful part of the world, but too cold.

“I had an offer of a job in the Health Department at that time, but when COVID came through it didn’t eventuate, so I took a job milking with Pete Duggan on the dairy farm at Cowaramup.

“The good thing about working at the Duggans was Andrew had sold a lot of his cows there, so the first calf that I raised I got to follow to Duggans and watch her calve down with a heifer calf – that was beautiful, really satisfying to be able to do that.”

Ms Brockman also worked for the Haddons and the Merritt family at Elgin Dairies, before it was suggested she should apply for the Young Dairy co-ordinator job.

Her story of starting out with no agricultural experience and finding a niche in dairy is not unusual.

“It’s more and more common for those who don’t come from an ag background to discover there are many opportunities in ag, particularly for women,” she said.

“It turns their life around like it did mine and they love it like I do.

“Dairy, in particular, is really good for getting a start.

“One thing that dairy farmers like doing, I’ve found, is they like teaching.

“They are so generous with their time.

“If you want to learn, they are more than happy to take you through how they do things.”

Source: farmweekly.com.au

One part of traveling internationally many people love is getting to try new foods.

For Olympic athletes, though, they’re used to a strict diet, and shouldn’t necessarily change their routines.

Their meals are very important, and with all the restrictions of not being able to go out in Beijing, it’s even tougher to find what you need. For example, milk.

Athletes drink milk all the time for recovery and carbohydrates.

US Speedskating, the team that’s based in Kearns, wasn’t sure they could get the same quality of milk in Beijing, so they reached out to Utah dairy farmers for help.

Every single morning, dairy farmers have work to do.

Cows don’t take a break on the weekends, and neither can Jackson Smith.

“It’s not as bad as people make it out to be,” said Jackson Smith, owner of Smith’s Cream Pitcher Jerseys. “It’s actually a pretty dang good life.”

Smith and his family run Smith’s Cream Pitcher Jerseys in Lewiston. Their dairy operation milks about 1,700 cows, and, along with other Cache County dairy farms, feel like their milk is among the best in the world.

“They all try and do the best job they can so that the consumers get the very best product that they can get in the end,” Smith said.

And if that quality is good enough for them, it’s good enough for US Speedskating.

“It’s this, this perfectly packaged recovery drink, so we’re big on milk,” said Dr. Jen Day, sports dietician for US Speedskating.

Day is in charge of making sure the speedskaters are doing everything right when it comes to nutrition and recovery after training or big races.

“If you think about the stress and strain on their bodies, and all the repair that needs to be happening continuously, nutrition is what really supports that. So, it’s a big deal,” she said.

And milk is such a big deal for the skaters.

The team worked with Dairy West and Gossner Foods in Logan, which gets milk from Utah dairy farmers, to ship 5,000 units of it to Beijing, just before the Olympics. That way, the quality of milk the athletes drink is exactly what they know.

“Chocolate milk is one of my favorite foods,” US Short Track Speedskater Julie Letai said laughing.

For Letai, having the milk she’s used to drinking is one less thing to worry about as she focuses on these Games.

“It gives us the fuel that we need and the consistency,” she said. “Also, with a long shelf life, that will really help us stay consistent during our training.”

That means, if one of our Team USA speedskaters win a medal, there’s a good chance that one of Smith’s cows helped.

“Heck yeah! Yeah!” Smith cheered.

And that leaves a great taste in his mouth.

“At least be drinking some of the milk, some of the, some of the chocolate milk when they get it. Yeah,” Smith said laughing.

Source: kslsports.com

High prices for beef, soy and other commodities are boosting demand for cheap land

Brazil recorded the most deforestation ever in the Amazon rainforest for the month of January, according to government data on Friday, as destruction continues to worsen despite the government’s recent pledges to bring it under control, reported Reuters. 

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon totalled 430 square kilometers (166 square miles) last month, 5 times higher than January 2021, according to preliminary satellite data from government space research agency Inpe.

That’s the highest since the current data series began in 2015/2016, equal to an area more than seven times the size of Manhattan.

Environmental researchers said they were not surprised to see destruction still rising, given right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro’s weakening of environmental protections.

With little fear of punishment, speculators are increasingly clearing forest for ranches in illegal land grabs, said Britaldo Soares Filho, an environmental modeling researcher at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. High prices for beef, soy and other commodities are also boosting the demand for cheap land.

“People might be surprised that it didn’t increase even more,” Soares Filho said.

“There is a race to deforest the Amazon.”

Bolsonaro’s office and the Environment Ministry did not immediately respond to request for comment on the deforestation figures or the government’s environmental policies.

The preservation of the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, is vital to curbing climate change because of the vast amount of greenhouse gas absorbed in its trees.

Bolsonaro has long argued for more commercial farming and mining in the Amazon to help lift the region out of poverty.

Facing international pressure from the United States and Europe, Brazil last year pledged to end illegal deforestation by 2028 and signed a global pact to stop all forest destruction by 2030.

Soon after those commitments, Inpe released data showing that deforestation in 2021 in the Brazilian Amazon hit the highest point in 15 years. The preliminary data for January shows the destruction is continuing to mount.

Ana Karine Pereira, a political scientist at the University of Brasilia, said while Bolsonaro and his government changed their tone last year, their policies remain the same.

Soares Filho and Pereira said deforestation will only stop rising if Bolsonaro loses the presidential election in October.

“Changing the political profile of the president and federal government leadership is crucial in this moment to see a break in this trend of high levels of deforestation,” Pereira said.

High deforestation is unusual in the current rainy season, when the rainforest is harder for loggers to access. The January data showed that new clearing was still less than half of what is common during the peak months from June to September.

A deforestation monitoring researcher at Inpe told Reuters the surge last month could be partially due to higher levels of cloud cover in November and December than the previous year.

Those clouds might have hidden destruction from satellites in those months that was subsequently revealed in January, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Still, cloud cover remained relatively high in January, declining to 43% from 54% in December.

Source: Reuters

As part of the Optimize and Enhance Operations pillar of the company’s Global Strategic Plan, Saputo Inc. announces Feb. 8 several major capital investments and consolidation initiatives intended to enhance and streamline its manufacturing footprint in its USA Sector and International Sector. These planned activities are consistent with the previously announced Global Strategic Plan designed to create shared value for all stakeholders.

In the USA Sector, as a first phase, the company plans to invest approximately US$133 million towards the modernization and expansion of its cheese manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin and California and to support its growth plan in the retail market segment. These initiatives will begin in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 and are expected to take approximately 24 months to implement. Complementing this first phase, Saputo plans to consolidate the cut-and-wrap activities in its West Coast operations, and right-size its footprint by closing its Bardsley Street, Tulare, CA facility in fiscal 2023. The impact on employees is expected to be minimal as opportunities for employment will be available at other Saputo facilities in Tulare.

In the International Sector, the Company will be streamlining operations in two of its manufacturing facilities in Australia. A limited number of employees will be impacted. These employees will be provided with severance and outplacement support, and Saputo is exploring redeployment opportunities for some of the affected employees.

“Staying true to our disciplined approach and commitment to shareholder value creation, we are executing our Global Strategic Plan with intention and precision. Today’s announcement is the first in a series of investments and consolidation activities that will increase efficiency and productivity, improving our ability to meet the evolving needs of our customers and consumers,” said Lino A. Saputo, Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our five strategic pillars are expected to fuel strong organic growth and this step in our journey lays the groundwork to improve our product portfolio, modernize our processes, enhance capacities, and enable us to pursue initiatives to deliver against our growth objectives.”

The capital investments and consolidation initiatives outlined above are expected to result in annual savings and benefits gradually, beginning in fiscal 2023, and reaching approximately US$88 million (US$65 million after tax) by the end of fiscal 2025. Costs connected with the capital investments and consolidation initiatives outlined above will be approximately US$36 million after tax, which include a non-cash fixed assets write-down of approximately US$31 million after tax. These costs will be recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022.

Saputo produces, markets, and distributes a wide array of dairy products of the utmost quality, including cheese, fluid milk, extended shelf-life milk and cream products, cultured products, and dairy ingredients. Saputo is one of the top ten dairy processors in the world, a leading cheese manufacturer and fluid milk and cream processor in Canada, the top dairy processor in Australia, and the second largest in Argentina. In the USA, Saputo ranks among the top three cheese producers and is one of the largest producers of extended shelf-life and cultured dairy products. In the United Kingdom, Saputo is the largest manufacturer of branded cheese and a top manufacturer of dairy spreads. Saputo products are sold in several countries under market-leading brands, as well as private label brands.

Source: foodmanufacturing.com

Top News Stories:

• Students begin protest after chocolate milk is banned at school
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• Eastern Ontario dairy farmers speak out on milk price increase
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• Milk prices soar across Canada as record price increases for farmers kick in
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• Brenda Snow Announces Retirement from USJersey

Saputo (OTCPK:SAPIF) is a major producer and distributor of dairy products including milk, cheese and cream products. Headquartered in Canada, Saputo is one of the top-10 dairy processors in the world and even is the largest processor in Australia and a top-3 player in the US cheese market. Saputo’s main shareholders still are the Saputo family, which usually adds a layer of safety as the family shareholders wouldn’t want to jeopardize the family capital.

As Saputo is a Canadian company, I’d strongly recommend you to trade in the company’s shares using the Canadian listing. Saputo is trading with SAP as its ticker symbol on the Toronto Stock Exchange and, with an average volume of in excess of 600,000 shares per day, the TSX listing is by far the most liquid listing for Saputo. Unfortunately, the company’s IR section on the website contains download-only links, but you can find all relevant information here.

Saputo’s H1 results were a bit weaker than expected

Although the demand for dairy and cheese products remains strong, Saputo posted a relatively weak set of results in Q2 and the first half of the year, and the company is blaming supply chain disruptions and labour shortages for a large part of its poor performance. Additionally, inflationary pressure also had a negative impact on the company’s margins in the first half of the year; and although the revenue remained stable, the EBITDA decreased sharply in the second quarter. And although the share price initially increased by about 25% since my previous article on Saputo was published, the current share price of C$28.40 is about 30% lower than its 52-week high as the market has been underwhelmed by the results so far.

Looking at the company’s H1 results, we indeed also see the revenue increased by approximately 1.5% to just under C$7.2B, but the COGS increased by about 4% to C$6.6B, resulting in an EBITDA of C$573M, substantially lower than the C$737M in H1 FY 2021.

Source: financial statements

Fortunately, some of the other operating expenses also decreased (unlike H1 2021 there was no impairment charge) and the net interest expenses decreased as well and this helped to mitigate the pre-tax income decrease. The pre-tax income was C$268M and due to a high tax bill in H1 FY 2022, the net income was just C$151M or C$0.37 per share.

Keep in mind, the average tax rate of about 44% in the first half of the year does not represent the normalized tax pressure; the 24% in the second quarter seems to be a more realistic longer term tax rate. The higher tax rate in Q1 is entirely related to the company having to record an increase in deferred income tax liabilities due to a reformed tax system in the United Kingdom where the corporate tax rate will increase from 19% to 25% on April 1^st, 2023. This increased the tax bill by about C$50M and on an adjusted basis, the H1 net income would have been just over C$200M or C$0.49 per share.

That’s still not great for a stock trading at in excess of C$28/share and the margins are very clearly suffering from the aforementioned elements.

The reported operating cash flow in the first half of the year was approximately C$402M but we still need to deduct the C$41M in lease payments, resulting in an adjusted operating cash flow of C$361M. This includes an effective tax payment of C$68M, which is more in line with the normal tax requirements for the first half of the year.

Source: financial statements

The total capex was approximately C$197M, resulting in a free cash flow result of approximately C$164M. Divided over 414M shares, the free cash flow result was approximately C$0.40. Again, hardly anything to be wildly excited about given the current share price.

The net debt is high, but decreases fast

Saputo has been pretty active on the M&A front in the past few years, and as a direct consequence, the net debt has increased. As of the end of September, Saputo had C$222M in cash and about C$734M in short-term debt on top of the almost C$3.1B in long-term debt for a total net debt of approximately C$3.6B. That’s the net financial debt and excludes the almost C$500M in lease liabilities.

Although the EBITDA result in the first half was clearly disappointing with an EBITDA of just C$573M, the net debt versus EBITDA ratio will likely remain pretty manageable at around 3 by the end of this year. That sounds relatively high but keep in mind Saputo just completed a C$375M cash acquisition, and the EBITDA has been under severe pressure due to the aforementioned inflationary issues and labour and supply chain issues. Just to provide a fair comparison: the H1 2021 EBITDA excluding lease payments was approximately C$700M for an annualized result of C$1.4B.

These acquisitions fit in nicely with Saputo’s plans for 2025 where it plans to enhance its profitability while growing the company.

Source: company presentation

This should result in an EBITDA of in excess of C$2.1B by 2025 (which is in 3.5 years). That’s a very ambitious target and I hope the company’s management can deliver on this promise.

Source: company presentation

In order to reach that EBITDA number, Saputo aims to spend about C$2.3B in capex in the 2021-2025 era, so we can expect the capital expenditure level to increase. This will make the reduction of the net debt level less likely, but the debt ratio should trend in the right direction anyway as the higher EBITDA result should improve the net debt ratio as well.

Investment thesis

Buying Saputo right now is basically a bet on the management being able to pull off its EBITDA guidance of in excess of C$2.1B by the end of FY 2025. That’s a 40% increase compared to the FY 2021 EBITDA result, but it would mean an increase of more than 100% compared to the annualized EBITDA in H1 2022. I hope Saputo can deliver on its promises, but it will have to get a grip on its margin pressure sooner rather than later.

On the conference call, Saputo confirmed it took some pricing actions to offset the inflationary pressures, so I hope we will see at least a stabilization and hopefully a small improvement in the Q3 margins, followed by a margin expansion again in Q4.

I currently don’t have a position in Saputo as the impact of inflationary issues is a little bit worrisome and I’d like to see the company getting a better grip on the situation before going long.

Source: Seeking Alpha

The Green Bay-based Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative did not have to go far to fill the unexpired term of board member Jerry Meissner of Chili, who passed away in December after a long battle with cancer. The group announced on Tuesday that Meissner’s son, Josh, will serve on the board in an interim capacity through 2023.

Meissner and his family own and operate Norm-E-Lane Farm, which was founded by his grandparents in the late 1940s. It has since grown into a 2,500-cow dairy that operates 5,000 acres of cropland.

“I am excited and honored to accept my spot on the Edge board of directors,” Meissner said. “I look forward to being a part of this organization, furthering the voice for milk and making an impact on our great dairy industry.”

In addition to his involvement with Edge, Jerry Meissner became involved with the Dairy Business Association from its inception in 2000, where he also served as board president of the group from 2007-2015.

Some California students staged a protest to return a favorite item to their school lunch menu.

A Vacaville Kindergarten through eighth grade school had banned chocolate milk because of its high sugar content.

Students at Sierra Vista K-8 in Vacaville say lunchtime just isn’t the same. There’s something missing from the menu, and because of that, they’ve had to think outside of the box.

Inside Emily Doss’ 4th grade class, students prepare their plea. They are demanding change and are willing to go to great lengths to send a message to the grown up in charge.

“The people who are going to be negotiating with me, I’m probably going to put them on the spot,” one student said.

Shoulder to shoulder, students left class to rally out front where everyone could hear their voices being heard.

“That’s how we feel about it,” one student said. “We feel really strongly about it and we want to protest and bring it back.”

All of this to protest something every kid loves: chocolate milk. Students say that delicious drink needs to come back to class.

The division’s Nutrition Department says the reason chocolate milk isn’t in the school is because it has “too much sugar” that the body doesn’t need.

But officials say they hear the students loud and clear. They decided to do chocolate milk one day every other week.

Source: Local 12

U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on the U.S. Supreme Court decision to hear Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which challenges EPA’s overreach of its Clean Water Act jurisdiction.

“AFBF is pleased that the Supreme Court has agreed to take up the important issue of what constitutes ‘Waters of the U.S.’ under the Clean Water Act. Farmers and ranchers share the goal of protecting the resources they’re entrusted with, but they shouldn’t need a team of lawyers to farm their land. We hope this case will bring more clarity to water regulations.

“In light of today’s decision, we call on EPA to push pause on its plan to write a new WOTUS rule until it has more guidance on which waters fall under federal jurisdiction. For the past 10 years, Farm Bureau has led the charge on elevating the issue of government overreach in water regulations. The goal is simple, clean water and clear rules.”

Lactanet recently introduced its new on-line A2 (Beta Casein) reports that include a Herd Summary and Animal Summary that reflect the current profile of your herd for the various genotypes of beta casein, more commonly known as A2. These reports are exclusively provided to Lactanet customers enrolled on our milk recording services and include herdbook registered females that are known to be part of your herd inventory, regardless of breed.

What is Beta Casein?

Beta casein is a protein that represents ≈30% of all milk proteins. There are two forms of beta casein, namely A1 and A2 and they differ by only one of the 224 amino acids that make up beta casein. Some research has indicated that the digestibility of dairy products is improved with A2 beta casein proteins compared to A1.

The Genetics of A2

Animals of any dairy breed can have their DNA tested to identify their beta casein genotype based on the transmission of the A1 and/or A2 forms from their parents. This A2 gene testing is easily done at the same time as genotyping for a genomic evaluation. The possible beta casein genotypes are A2A2, A1A2 or A1A1 and the proportion of each within a breed is dependent upon the frequency of the A1 and A2 genes in that population. The Lactanet Genetics database has been receiving beta casein (A2) gene test results for several years from A.I. companies, breed associations, and international sources. Figure 1 shows the frequency of each A2 genotype by breed as estimated using the gene test results currently available, with the count of animals indicated in brackets.

New A2 Herd and Animal Reports

Given the growing rate of A2 testing among females genotyped in Canada and the increasing interest in A2A2 sires, Lactanet developed a new reporting service for our customers. The A2 Herd Summary and A2 Animal Summary reports are accessible via the MySite section of the Lactanet website for each herd on milk recording. These reports are based on registered animals in the DHI herd inventory and includes a herd profile report and an animal report by A2 genotype category. National benchmarks are based on all registered females included in the inventory of all herds enrolled on Lactanet milk recording services. The goal is to provide Canadian producers with an overview of the A2 status of their herd and animals.

A2 Genotype Categories

Lactanet geneticists developed an advanced calculation of probabilities based on actual A2 gene test results and all available pedigree data to assess the most likely A2 genotype of each female in your herd. Your herd inventory is divided into three groups, namely Cows (lactating or dry), Yearlings (heifers over 12 months) and Heifers (12 months of age and under). For each age category, counts and percentages are presented for seven A2 genotype groups as follows:

How to Use the A2 Genotype Reports

An example of the A2 Genotype Herd Summary is provided in Figure 2.  The top section provides herd statistics compared to national benchmarks within each of the three animal age groups and the bottom section is a visual representation of the proportion of animals in each group across the seven A2 genotype categories.  For producers aiming to increase the percentage of A2A2 genotypes in their herd an increased trend should be seen from Cows to Yearlings to Heifers for the first two A2 categories that include known or most likely A2A2 females.

The value of these reports will vary significantly from herd to herd.  Minimally, the Herd Summary will provide you with an overall profile of your herd status and the evolution of the various A2 genotype groups across the three age categories. For herd owners interested in increasing the frequency of A2A2 genotype in their herd, the Animal Summary report provides the best indication of which females are most likely to be A2A2 or to produce daughters that may be.

Some herd owners are interested in having a complete herd of A2A2 animals so they may qualify to produce “A2 Milk”. This goal is possible to achieve over time by selection of sires that have the A2A2 or A1A2 genotypes. The Genetics section of the Lactanet web site provides group query tools that allows you to filter sires by their A2 genotype, which is also a feature of the Compass software freely available to producers across Canada.

Summary

Beta casein A2 testing is gaining producer interest and marketing and selection of A2A2 sires is also growing. In response to these growing trends, Lactanet now offers its A2 Genotype reports that includes a Herd Summary and Animal Summary that is freely available to Lactanet DHI customers via their MySite account. These reports provide herd owners with an overall profile of their herd status, broken down into three age groups and seven possible A2 genotype categories, as well as a complete list of animals within each A2 category. Producers interested in increasing the frequency of A2A2 cows in their herd can do so by the preferred use of A2A2 or A1A2 sires, which can easily be identified using filtering features of the Group Query tool on the Lactanet web site or in Compass as a freely available genetic herd management software.

Author: Brian Van Doormaal, Chief Services Officer

Download a PDF copy

United Dairy Farmers, Inc. changed its name in honor of the Cincinnati Bengals going to the Super Bowl, officially rebranding to ‘U Dey F’ and introducing a featured menu that also is now in effect.

If the Bengals win the Super Bowl on Sunday night, a fuel promotion for ‘U Dey F’ U-Drive members will go into effect the following day, on Monday, Feb. 14. They will cut the price of fuel by 1 cent per gallon for every point the team wins by.

So if Cincinnati wins 24-17, U-Drive members would receive 7 cents off per gallon the following day.

“Just like the rest of Cincinnati, ‘U Dey F’ could not be more proud our football team as they head to Los Angeles on Sunday to represent this city proudly,” said David Lindner, United Dairy Farmers Senior Vice President of Retail and Co-Owner.

“That is why we are enthusiastically throwing our brand firmly behind them in a show of unity and passion for the Queen City that we have both called home for generations.”

Meanwhile, the temporary rebrand aligns with some tasty selections for football fans to enjoy right now throughout the week.

‘U Dey F’ is featuring UDF Brand Joe Football ice cream, a buttery brown sugar ice cream with milk chocolate caramel footballs and ribbons of UDF fudge in 48 oz cartons, as well as the ‘U Dey F’ Orange Freeze made with their famous orange sherbet and available only at the dip counter in stores.

‘U Dey F’ donuts will also get a Cincy spin for a limited time.

The classic square donuts will be iced in white with orange and black sprinkles, while the devil’s food cake donut will be covered in chocolate icing and orange sprinkles for football fans across the region to enjoy.

All donuts and baked goods are prepared locally at the company’s state-of-the-art bakery in Blue Ash and delivered fresh daily to all 177 locations.

For more on ‘U Dey F,’ visit www.udfinc.com and follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Source: fox19.com

Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative applauded an announcement today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that schools will continue to be allowed to offer flavored low-fat milk for at least the next two years.

The 1% milk option, which has been allowed since 2017, is included in new transitional standards for school nutrition programs that will be in place until a final rule is created for the 2024-25 school year.

“We are pleased to see USDA reaffirm the importance of allowing flavored low-fat milk as an option in our school food programs,” Edge President Brody Stapel said. “Milk’s nutritional benefits for school-age children have been proven time and again, and offering low-fat flavored milk encourages consumption.

“Recent research shows that fuller-fat dairy foods are considered part of a healthy diet. We applaud USDA’s move and look forward to working with the department to ensure that fuller-fat dairy products are recognized as healthy options, even for school nutrition programs.”

Background
In 2012, USDA updated school meal requirements to reflect the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans at that time. The update included restricting school milk choices to unflavored low-fat,  flavored fat-free and unflavored fat-free. Milk consumption in schools dropped significantly.

In 2017, Congress began requiring USDA to allow states to grant hardship-based exemptions to school nutrition standards, allowing them to serve flavored low-fat (1%) milk. USDA implemented those standards, which were in place when the pandemic hit. USDA continued allowing flexibility in the program to ensure schools could offer nutritious meals amid pandemic-related supply chain issues.

The transitional standards announced today provide more clarity going forward for schools. A proposed final rule will be released later this year and is projected to be implemented for the 2024-25 school year.

About Edge
Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative provides dairy farmers throughout the Midwest with a powerful voice — the voice of milk — in Congress, with customers and within our communities. Edge, based in Green Bay, Wis., is the third largest dairy cooperative in the country based on milk volume. Member farms are located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. 

Water is scarce in 50% of the core growing region

Argentina may have left the worst of its summer drought behind, but the risk of dry weather to the country’s crops remains real, the Rosario grains exchange said in its latest weather analysis.

The South American grains producer, the world’s No. 1 exporter of processed soy and the second for corn, was hit hard by drought from December until mid-January, when a fortnight of rains helped limit losses to crop yields and improve conditions, reported Reuters. 

“Are we leaving the drought behind? From the climatic point of view, the answer is clear: yes, the situation was resolved with the atmospheric change of the second half of January,” the Rosario exchange said in its report.

“But from the point of view of crops, no, since 50% of the core region remains with scarce (water) reserves and drought.”

Reuters recently traveled to key farm regions in Buenos Aires province, where rains had helped crops recover, but farmers said they had already suffered substantial losses to crops due to the previously dry spell.

The country saw heavy rains in some areas, especially in the north west of the farm belt in the second half of January, while some agricultural zones got lower amounts of rain and were in need of more water in the coming weeks.

The Rosario exchange said that rains hoped for the first week of February looked less likely now.

“For now, no rain is expected in the coming week due to the arrival of mass of cold and dry air that will provide stable conditions,” it said, adding only after next Wednesday were there signs of a more unstable weather front and clouds.

“It is not possible to guarantee that we will not experience another dry spell,” Jose Luis Aiello, a weather expert and adviser to the grains exchange said in the report.

Source: Reuters

More than 100 cows were killed in a fire at Percy Farm in Stowe on Wednesday night.

Officials believe the fire, which started around 11 p.m. Wednesday, was caused by a skid loader parked inside the farm’s cattle barn, said owner Paul Percy.

He said the skid loader had been used earlier in the day.

The barn was a total loss, said Paul’s wife, Lee Percy. No one was injured in the blaze.

“It was all gone before anybody knew it,” Paul Percy said of the barn.

Lee Percy said her daughter heard what sounded like two explosions, then looked outside and saw that the barn was on fire.

The family was able to save its calves from the barn, but the other cows — between 130 and 140 — were killed, Paul Percy said.

He said the fire department was able to keep the family’s house from burning down.

Stowe Fire Department interim chief Scott Reeves could not be reached for comment Thursday. 

Reeves told the Stowe Reporter it took firefighters until about 6.a.m. Thursday to get the fire knocked down. Eight other fire departments also responded, he said.

Milk produced at Percy Farm is used in Cabot products, including cheese, yogurt and sour cream, according to the farm’s website.

The family also runs Bouchard Farm in Stowe, which has a popular corn maze.

This wasn’t the only barn fire in Vermont this week. WCAX reported that 20 farm animals were killed when a barn caught fire Tuesday night in Alburgh.

By Thursday evening, a GoFundMe drive to aid the Percy family had raised more than $30,000 toward a $100,000 goal.